Things that make me happy

I am currently eating crackers that I bought because I thought that they were sesame flavored. Upon closer examination and tasting I have found them to also be sweet potato flavored. At first taste I found this weird and unsettling, having never eaten sweet potato flavored crackers before. But there is just something about them that is endearing, an unfamiliar tangy sweetness that for some reason has me hooked. [I wouldn't go as far as saying China is an unfamiliar cracker, but it's something to think about.]
This last week has been amazing because I have finally gotten over my original fear and anxiety about just getting out and doing things on school days. For about a month I would spend my afternoons in my room, kind of doing work, wasting time on facebook, and more often than not napping. It was a combination or lack of confidence in my Chinese, the unbearable heat, and feeling the pressure of school work that kept me indoors. Last week I went out and did something new and exciting every afternoon, and now I think there is no going back. Yes, I have a lot of work, but spending time out in the city is its own form of education.
Last Tuesday I had Indian food at a fancy restaurant by West Lake and ate with a fork for the first time in six weeks. It felt weird and cumbersome in my hand. On Wednesday we did not have classes because it was a National Holiday. In the morning I was introduced to my new favorite food/addiction in China. It is a big circular crepe that is covered in egg and then sprinkled with cilantro, scallions, and various brown and tangy sauces. Then it is rolled up with a crispy noodle in the middle and looks like an asian sandwich wrap.
On Wednesday my roommate also gave me her bike. Which has made my life infinitely better because biking is the quickest and most fun way to get around. On Wednesday I went biking and explored around West Lake. Not only do I love bike paths that are as big as cars and filled with bike/scooter commuters, but I also love cities that are set up on grids, and the fact that when I am biking people are unable to stare at me for quite as long.
On Thursday after class I convinced my Chinese friend Pei Pei to go biking and exploring with me. Our original plan was to go to West Lake, but as Pei Pei said, (I am going to make the joke even though it doesn't translate well) it looked more like ren hu (people lake) than xi hu (west lake). So we ended up biking around for a long time and discussing our families and disney movies and our desires to never grow up (in Chinese), and eventually we made our way to a park outside of the city called Xixi wetlands. The highlight of this trip was the large plastic balls that you can climb inside and then play in on the water. That may be a bad description, but just picture a person rolling around inside a big plastic bubble that is floating on water.
On Friday, I went with my friend Kayla, who is basically Chinese because she lived in Shanghai from age 4-12, and we went on various postcard, map, and food buying missions. We ate pizza (a neccessary evil that tasted beyond delicious) and went to a night market and just generally enjoyed this city and all of the bright lights and shiny objects.
After not sleeping nearly enough we got up Saturday morning to go on our weekend group camping trip in Anji. It was lovely, an actual hiking trail (most places in China are cement steps) and it rained pretty much the whole time. But really, take me to a beautiful place and give me trail mix, friends, and a comfortable, (somewhat) dry place to sleep for ungodly numbers of hours and I am a happy camper.
In other news, I have midterm exams next week (something that I don't really want to talk about), and then the week after is our fall break and I am planning to travel to Yunnan province with some friends. I am also interviewing with Where There Be Dragons (a travel company that I traveled with to Peru and Thailand when I was 16-17) about a possible position interning with them in China next semester. I am very excited about this possibility.
This has been a long information packed entry, so to sum up, I am really happy. I am beginning to really feel adjusted to this city. I have gotten to the place in my Chinese where I can make jokes on purpose, rather than accidentally. With the exception of the time when I confused the the words for toothbrush and toothpaste (the words are not that similar). So I spent a few minutes asking my Chinese friends for their toothbrushes (not a socially acceptable thing to share), and then it was pointed out that what I really wanted was to use their toothpaste. I got some weird looks for that one. They must have been wondering if in the United States it is okay to ask your friends for their toothbrushes. I often find myself trying to convince Chinese friends that the weird things that I do or say do not represent all American people, that most of the time it is just me being weird.